Tag Archives: Kazuki Omori

Our trek through the Heisei Series continues! After watching experimental weirdness and convoluted time-travel, Nate and Brian cover a Godzilla film that’s a bit more “normal”—for this franchise, anyway. It’s the most successful film in the Heisei Series, and we see more positives than negatives in this 1990s update of the classics. The movie features Akira Takarada, the return of Mothra, a weaponized Ferris wheel, and scenes ripping off Indiana Jones (the last one drives Nate crazy). We also compare Battra to Mirror Universe Spock. Our related topics are contemporary environmentalism and the Lost Decade. For the video version of this podcast, check out our YouTube channel.

We’d like to send a shout-out to our patrons Kyoei Toshi and Sean Stiff for pledging at the Kaiju Visionary level. Thank you for your support! We really appreciate it.

Filmed and released during the Japanese stock market crash, this movie perfectly captures the Japanese national spirit at the time it was made. In 1991, just like after World War II ended, the Japanese people collectively asked “How could this happen?” In fact, Miki Saegusa says that herself. While the symbolism isn’t very subtle either, this movie is not anti-American. Our related topics are nationalism and the US-Japan difficulties reaching a peak regarding trade.

This film was released in late 1991, and if you can find that year on this graph of the Japanese Nikkei 225 stock market average, you will notice that’s at a very pivotal and scary time for Japan.

Are the Showa series movies simple, or are they really just focused? Are the Heisei movies creative, or are they just complex? As Godzilla fans, we want these movies to be better than they are. Nate and Brian dissect this experimental Godzilla film featuring a rare plant kaiju. Listen as Brian cracks jokes to maintain his sanity and Nate sings quirky show tunes (badly). Our related topics are the Human Genome Project, the death of Emperor Hirohito & ascension of Akihito, and Japan becoming a major non-NATO ally.

As Brian and I continue to develop Kaijuvision Radio, I thought it would be good to give you, dear listeners, a quick rundown on the many talented men who have sat in the director’s chair for Godzilla’s 60+ years of films. You’d be surprised by the caliber of talent possessed by these directors. (FYI: I’m only listing directors for films that have been released, so the several upcoming Godzilla films in both Japan and America are being excluded).

Mr. Honda directed more films in Big G’s filmography than any other in the franchise. For many fans, he’s unequaled in talent and skill. A longtime collaborator with the great Akira Kurosawa, Honda was drafted by the Japanese military during WWII, during which he was interned as a prisoner of war. He became a pacifist afterward, and he infused all of his many films with that idea along with a “brotherhood of man” theme.

The second-most prolific director in the franchise, Fukuda directed many of the “cheesier,” more kid-oriented films during the Showa era. He was known for “young guy” (i.e. teen) films and crime movies, which showed since his G-films tended to feature young people and lots of action. If Honda was the Spielberg of the franchise, Fukuda could be considered the Michael Bay.

Image courtesy of Gojipedia.

Motoyoshi Oda
Film: Godzilla Raids Again

Oda was the first of two one-off directors during this era. Trained by acclaimed director Kajirō Yamamoto (who also tutored Kurosawa and Honda), Oda became a workhorse for Toho, directing as many as seven movies a year. Sadly, only one of his movies has ever been released outside of Japan, which was the first sequel to Gojira, Godzilla Raids Again.

Banno might be the most infamous of all of Godzilla’s directors since his only credit is arguably the redheaded stepchild of the franchise: Godzilla vs. Hedorah. With its trippy imagery, countercultural vibe, strange animation, and on-the-nose environmental message, it’s no wonder he’s a divisive figure. Even producer Tomoyuki Tanaka thought he’d ruined Godzilla after the release of Hedorah! Regardless, he was always a friend to the franchise and was responsible for what ultimately became the 2014 American reboot Godzilla directed by Gareth Edwards. He died earlier this year, the last of the Showa era directors to pass away.

Heisei Era (1984-1995) and Millennium Series (1999-2004)

Image courtesy of Gojipedia.

Koji Hashimoto
Film: The Return of Godzilla (aka Godzilla 1985)

Hashimoto had the privilege of directing Godzilla’s first reboot in the mid-1980s. He previously directed the science fiction film Sayonara Jupiterin 1984, which featured the final role played by Akihiko Hirata before he died (he starred in many Showa era Godzilla films, most notably as Dr. Serizawa in Gojira).

Omori was one of the seminal members of the creative team that worked on most of the Heisei films, serving as both screenwriter and director. He loved American movies, and there were frequent references and homages (and rip-offs?) in his G-films. He also added a more potent Japanese nationalism to them, most especially in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah.

Okawara is the only director to work on films in two different cycles of the franchise, being the most frequent director of the Heisei era and helming Godzilla’s second reboot in 1999. He started his career working with both Kurosawa and Honda on the 1980 film Kagemusha and was assistant director on The Return of Godzilla.

Image courtesy of Toho Kingdom.

Kensho Yamashita
Film: Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla

Yamashita could be called the Motoyoshi Oda of the Heisei era. He was an assistant director hired by Toho to shell out a quick Godzilla sequel in 1994. His background was in teen films, which accounts for the picturesque cinematography and romantic subplot of his only G-film. Sadly, he died in 2016.

Tezuka became the most frequent director on the Millennium series, and his three films could arguably be called a trilogy. His G-films focused more on human drama, featured strong female protagonists, and had a greater military presence. While his entries often underperformed at the box office, he was known for his great enthusiasm in each of his productions.

Kaneko is by far the most celebrated of the Millennium series directors, helming what might be the most ambitious and different G-film in the franchise since Godzilla vs.Hedorah. He achieved acclaim with kaiju fans and filmgoers alike with his incredible Gamera trilogy in the 1990s, the third entry being considered one of the best kaiju films ever made. He infused his kaiju films with deep themes but featured fewer monster scenes so as to focus the budget on those less frequent sequences to make them look better.

Image courtesy of Wikipedia.

Ryuhei Kitamura
Film: Godzilla: Final Wars

Kitamura was an independent Japanese filmmaker who could be called a modern-day Jun Fukuda in many ways (his favorite Godzilla is 1974’s Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, which is no surprise). He’s known for his hyperkinetic action movies and horror films. While he was hired by Toho to direct Godzilla’s 50th anniversary film, Godzilla: Final Wars (and a potential finale for the franchise), he funded the production with much of his own money. The film actually had a Hollywood premiere in 2004.

Modern Films (2016-present) and American Films (1998-present)

Anno (left) and Higuchi (right). Image courtesy of Crunchyroll.

Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi
Film: Shin Godzilla

This “dynamic duo” directed Big G’s most recent film, Shin Godzilla, which has become a box office smash and won several Japanese Academy Awards. Both of them got their start in anime, most notably Anno on his classic 1998 TV series Neon Genesis Evangelion. They’re known for their bizarre, often trippy imagery and cerebral storytelling with hints of satire and themes of nationalism, making Shin Godzilla one of the most unique films in the franchise.

Image courtesy of Wikipedia.

Roland Emmerich
Film: Godzilla (1998)

Some fans might say Mr. Emmerich shouldn’t be included in this list because he didn’t make a “real” Godzilla movie. I can understand that. Regardless, the film he and his collaborator, Dean Devlin, made (spoiler warning) will be covered in the podcast. (Please send your hate mail to feedback@kaijuvision.com). Emmerich and Devlin gained popularity thanks to their sci-fi and disaster films, including their hits Stargate and Independence Day. They seemed like good choices for an American Godzilla film, but the results were less than stellar, especially for G-fans.

Image courtesy of IMDB.

Gareth Edwards
Film: Godzilla (2014)

Edwards was an independent British filmmaker who came to prominence in 2010 with Monsters, a kaiju movie set in Mexico. It made such an impression that Legendary Pictures hired him to direct their new Godzilla reboot, which became the first entry in the MonsterVerse. (So yes, the second film he ever directed was a big-budget Godzilla movie followed by a Star Wars film. Talk about moving up in the world!) A huge fan of Steven Spielberg, Edwards is known for his deliberate, suspenseful pacing and explosive finales as well as making low-budget films that look like big-budget blockbusters.

So there you have it! The many directors of Godzilla. Which one is your favorite? Tell us in the comments below.